3 Team India cricket greats who have opposed split captaincy in the past

Split captaincy has been the talk of the town in the Indian cricket scene ever since Team India failed to win the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. The chorus has been growing for all-rounder Hardik Pandya to replace Rohit Sharma as T20I captain. With Rohit being rested, Pandya is leading the Men in Blue in the ongoing T20I series in New Zealand.

As per the latest reports, Team India are all set to go for split captaincy. Apparently, when the new senior men's selection committee takes charge in place of the one that was sacked on Friday, November 18, it will be mandated to pick captains across three formats - a hint that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has possibly agreed on the multiple captaincy theory.

In all probability, Rohit will remain in charge of the Test and ODI squads, while Pandya will be made captain of the T20I team until the 2024 T20 World Cup in West Indies and the USA.

With talk of split captaincy in Indian cricket gaining momentum, we went down memory lane and revisited the thoughts of three Team India greats who have opposed the concept in the past.

---

#1 “Split captaincy does not work in India” - MS Dhoni

Former India captain MS Dhoni. Pic: Getty Images

While announcing his decision to step down as India’s limited-overs captain in 2017 and passing on the baton to Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni aptly made his views on the split captaincy clear. Mincing no words, he opined the split captaincy does not work in India.

Elaborating on his thoughts while quitting as white-ball leader of the national team, he said:

"I don't believe in split captaincy. For the team there has to be only one leader...Split captaincy doesn't work in India, I was waiting for the right time. I wanted Virat to ease into the job. There is no wrong decision in it. This team has potential to do well in all three formats. I felt it was right time to move on."

Dhoni gave up the Test captaincy during the tour of Australia in 2014. He stated that wanted to ease Kohli into the role in the longer format before giving him charge of the white ball teams. The veteran keeper-batter added:

"I believe that one player leading the team is crucial. It was on my mind when Virat took over the Test captaincy. I wanted him to take over and ease into the job. I wanted to be around for some game and now I finally decided that it was time to move on and give Virat captaincy (of limited-overs teams as well).”

Kohli was Team India’s all-format captain until he stepped down as T20I leader after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year.

---

“It should be the same captain for all the formats” - VVS Laxman

Team India’s stand-in coach for the New Zealand series is VVS Laxman. Pic: Getty Images

Like Dhoni, former India batter VVS Laxman had stated in March last year that having one captain across formats would serve the team better.

Sharing his thoughts at a time when Kohli was still the leader, and the split-captaincy debate was gaining steam, Laxman told News18 in an interview:

“I have always felt that as long as your captain is not burdened by captaincy and he is someone who enjoys the responsibility without compromising his performances, in this case, Virat the batsman, it should be the same captain for all the formats if he is regular in all the three formats.”

On England tasting success with different captains in different formats, he explained that their case was quite different from India’s. He elaborated:

“In England, the split captaincy works because Joe Root (who was the Test captain back then) is not a regular in white-ball cricket, or Eoin Morgan (who was the white ball captain) is not a Test player. If a captain is all three formats players and on top of that, a performer, it should be one captain.”

While Joe Root has since stepped down as Test captain and Eoin Morgan has retired from international cricket, England have stuck with the split captaincy philosophy. Ben Stokes leads the Test team, while Jos Buttler captains the white-ball squads.

---

#3 “In one company you make two CEOs?” - Kapil Dev

India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev. Pic: Getty Images

Joining the debate over split captaincy a couple of years back, India’s 1983 World Cup leader expressed disapproval of the idea, terming it against Indian cricket’s culture.

Reacting to a call from former opener Gautam Gambhir to divide captaincy responsibilities, Kapil asked if a company can have two CEOs. He was quoted as saying in media reports:

"In our culture, it is not going to happen that way. In one company you make two CEOs? No. Our 80 per cent, 70 per cent of the team across formats is same team. They don't like captains having different theory. It may bring more differences between the players who look up to the captain.

“If you have two captains, players might think he is going to be my captain in Tests. I will not annoy him."

Among the top international cricket teams, England, Australia, Sri Lanka, and South Africa follow the split captaincy policy. On the contrary, India, New Zealand, and Pakistan have stuck to the “one captain for all formats” theory.

---